A Tale of Blackbeard officially debuts for the season tonight

To read more about Julie Howard and the Tale of Blackbeard and listen to the some of the musical score, click here.

After one dress rehearsal last week, the musical, A Tale of Blackbeard, will debut its summer run tonight 8 p.m. at the Ocracoke School Gym Auditorium, (Monday, July 6) on School Rd. These weekly performances will run until August 17.

The change of venue from last summer, where it was performed at the Ocracoke Community Center, is due to the limited seating at the former location and the gym will accommodate a larger audience. All performances last season quickly sold out.

The musical, loosely based on the days prior to Blackbeard’s demise on the island in 1718, was written in the 1970s by Julie Howard. After a more than 20 year hiatus, this popular piece about island life was revived last year.

Howard has revised the show a bit, in particular, adding another song for the sailors.

At least two-thirds of the local actors are returning to the show this year though not all in the same roles, Howard said during a lull in a recent rehearsal.

“There are more sailors, a different Blackbeard and a different energy,” Howard, who is the musical director, said. Rob Touhey will play Blackbeard this season replacing Matt Tolson.

This summer’s show is in partnership with the Ocracoke PTA, which will provide food concessions and receive a portion of the proceeds with remaining funds designated for Ocracoke Alive community programming.

Courtney Conner is the director with Desiree Ricker as choreographer/co-director.